1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a parameter setting apparatus for an electronic musical instrument, wherein the apparatus sets various parameters for controlling tones generated by the electronic musical instrument.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, tone colors, tone volumes, pitches, effects, and the like of tones generated by an electronic musical instrument such as a synthesizer are controlled according to set parameters. When the parameters are set, a parameter setting apparatus is used.
A conventional parameter setting apparatus has a preset memory which stores a plurality of kinds (a plurality of sets) of preset data, each including a set of parameter data associated with various parameters for controlling a tone. When a user selects a specific kind of preset data from the plurality of kinds of preset data, the apparatus reads out the selected preset data from the preset memory, and sets it in a work memory. Parameter data constituting the preset data set in the work memory are supplied to a tone generator. The tone generator forms tone data on the basis of the supplied data, and sends the tone data to a tone production unit including a loudspeaker.
Meanwhile, a parameter setting apparatus of this type has a data edit function capable of changing a content of preset data according to a user's taste.
When data is edited using this function, a user operates an operation member for selecting preset data to call proper preset data in the work memory. When the user designates a kind and value of a parameter to be changed upon operation of the operation member, corresponding parameter data in the preset data in the work memory is rewritten accordingly. Thus, the user can obtain a tone having a desired tone color, effect, and the like.
The edited parameter data on the work memory can be simultaneously stored as preset data in the preset memory, as needed.
In the above-mentioned conventional parameter setting apparatus, parameter data which is edited using the data edit function is set in the work memory. New preset data is selected from the preset memory, and is called in the work memory. In this case, the content of the work memory is rewritten with the called preset data. For this reason, when the user wants to use the currently edited data again after he or she selects new preset data, he or she must temporarily store the edited data in the preset memory.
However, the user often erroneously selects new preset data without storing the edited data in the preset memory due to an operation error of the operation member or when he or she forgets to do so. Then, the edited data are undesirably rewritten with the new preset data, and the edited data can no longer be used. In this case, the user must perform an operation for reproducing the edited data again, and the reproduction operation is not easy, resulting in inconvenience.
An apparatus which can eliminate such a drawback, disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-126595 is known. This apparatus has a backup memory for storing parameter data in addition to the work memory. The backup memory is rewritten to always have the same content as that of the work memory. Even when edited data in the work memory is erroneously rewritten with other preset data, the content of the backup memory can be called in the work memory. Thus, the edited data can be easily recalled.
However, according to this apparatus, every time parameter data in the preset data in the work memory are changed, the content of the backup memory must be rewritten, resulting in a long data change processing time. When the number of parameters to be set is increased, the number of processing operations for rewriting the content of the backup memory upon operation of operation members is increased, and the volume of processing to be executed by a data processor (CPU) is increased accordingly. For this reason, an expensive data processor (CPU) having high processing performance must be used, and its execution program is complicated.
In a data edit mode, it is preferable to edit data while comparing tones produced based on the edited data, and preset data before editing or another data stored in the preset memory. In this case, in the conventional apparatus, the edited data set in the work memory must be temporarily stored in the preset memory, and then, preset data to be compared must be read out from the preset memory into the work memory. For this reason, an operation for designating a storage area in the preset memory for storing the edited data in the work memory, and instructing to store the edited data in the designated storage area, and an operation for selecting preset data to be compared, and reading it out in the work memory are required. This results in troublesome operations of the operation members, and it is difficult to quickly and easily compare data. In order to solve this problem, when a data comparison is instructed upon operation of the operation member, the edited data in the work memory can be automatically stored in a special-purpose memory. However, this operation requires another memory.